April 3 - II Kings 16-18
Ahaz was one king of Judah who did not follow the Lord like David. He pursued paganism like the kings of Israel. Ahaz went so far as to offer his son as a sacrifice to a pagan god. He began paying tribute to the Assyrians, instead of trusting God to protect Judah. He even remodeled the Temple and built a new altar, which was like the pagan altar he saw in Damascus. All of his actions were against God's covenant. These things show us that paganism was rampant in Judah, too. Judah was going the way of the world instead of God's way.
In Israel we see the end of God's mercy as they are taken into exile by the Assyrians. The Assyrians took away the Jewish people and brought in pagan people to live in Israel. The result was a culture of all types of religions mixed together. God tried to show them to worship Him by sending the lions, but they would not. These people became the Samaritans of Jesus's day. They knew about God and His laws, but they continued in their idol worship. It was a sad day to see paganism take over God's people. We must guard against this happening in our lives today. In our culture it is called relativism. That means that there is no absolute truth. Therefore, anyone can believe whatever he or she wants to believe, and it is truth for that person. This produces many strange beliefs that are a combination of many religions, but it is not God's truth.
Hezekiah began his reign in this atmosphere of paganism, but he did not give into it. He gave his heart to the Lord fully, and he began to turn the people of Judah back to God. He even broke up the golden serpent from the days of Moses, because people had made an idol out of it. The Bible tells us that Hezekiah trusted God more than all of the other kings. This is a great compliment. However, when the Assyrians came conquering the fortified cities of Judah, he did not initially turn to the Lord for help. He paid the tribute, too. The king of Assyria sent his messengers to turn the people away from God and to trust in the power of Assyria, so Hezekiah had a decision to make. We will see what he did tomorrow, but today we need to see something else. Hezekiah was trusting God and trying to do His will, but it was still easy for him to fall into the pattern of thinking of the world. His first thought was to pay tribute to satisfy his enemy, since Assyria was so powerful. He did not turn to the Lord first. That is how it is with us a lot of times. Our flesh leads us to make a decision before we consult the Lord, and that decision is not the right one. We must learn to stop and consult God first. He is our Lord and strength for every situation.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II kings 19-21.
In Israel we see the end of God's mercy as they are taken into exile by the Assyrians. The Assyrians took away the Jewish people and brought in pagan people to live in Israel. The result was a culture of all types of religions mixed together. God tried to show them to worship Him by sending the lions, but they would not. These people became the Samaritans of Jesus's day. They knew about God and His laws, but they continued in their idol worship. It was a sad day to see paganism take over God's people. We must guard against this happening in our lives today. In our culture it is called relativism. That means that there is no absolute truth. Therefore, anyone can believe whatever he or she wants to believe, and it is truth for that person. This produces many strange beliefs that are a combination of many religions, but it is not God's truth.
Hezekiah began his reign in this atmosphere of paganism, but he did not give into it. He gave his heart to the Lord fully, and he began to turn the people of Judah back to God. He even broke up the golden serpent from the days of Moses, because people had made an idol out of it. The Bible tells us that Hezekiah trusted God more than all of the other kings. This is a great compliment. However, when the Assyrians came conquering the fortified cities of Judah, he did not initially turn to the Lord for help. He paid the tribute, too. The king of Assyria sent his messengers to turn the people away from God and to trust in the power of Assyria, so Hezekiah had a decision to make. We will see what he did tomorrow, but today we need to see something else. Hezekiah was trusting God and trying to do His will, but it was still easy for him to fall into the pattern of thinking of the world. His first thought was to pay tribute to satisfy his enemy, since Assyria was so powerful. He did not turn to the Lord first. That is how it is with us a lot of times. Our flesh leads us to make a decision before we consult the Lord, and that decision is not the right one. We must learn to stop and consult God first. He is our Lord and strength for every situation.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II kings 19-21.